Hawaii is a
top-10 healthy
stateOfficials cite efforts to curb
smoking as helping push the
isles higher in the rankings
Hawaii has climbed back into the top 10 healthiest states after the lowest showing in 13 years in a 2002 national survey.
The state moved from 14th place in last year's rankings by the United Health Foundation to the 10th spot in results released today.
State Deputy Health Director Jane Kadohiro said she believes a lot of problems cited in Hawaii's health picture are related to the use of illegal drugs.
For example, she noted higher incidence of infectious and sexually transmitted diseases, low high school graduation rates, more occupational deaths and a higher-than-average infant mortality rate.
The United Health Foundation annually ranks the 50 states in "America's Health: State Health Rankings."
Hawaii was in ninth place in 1990. It fell to 11th place in 2001, then was 14th last year.
New Hampshire led the nation as the healthiest state last year, followed by Minnesota, Massachusetts, Utah and Connecticut.
Helping to push Hawaii into 10th place in the new survey were top rankings in some areas, including low risk of heart disease, low heart disease and cancer death rates, and an overall low mortality rate.
Hawaii also had a strong showing with low rates of smoking, violent crime, uninsured residents and premature deaths.
Kadohiro pointed to better outcomes for chronic diseases, particularly with heart disease, and better disease and death rates in general. But Hawaii has among the highest rates of diabetes and kidney disease, she said.
The high incidence of infectious diseases has a lot to do with substance abuse and with Hawaii's location as a center of travel and immigration from Asia and the Pacific where infectious diseases are bad, she said.
Hawaii "has put a lot of energy and resources from early on into tobacco control efforts," and smoking rates have dropped, Kadohiro pointed out.
Prevention efforts were stepped up with Hawaii's share of the tobacco settlement, and funds also were targeted to prevent risk factors for tobacco-related diseases, she said.
During hard economic times in the '90s, "prevention got pushed aside," Kadohiro said. The tobacco money "allowed us to get back into one of our primary responsibilities as a public health agency ... and we will continue to make sure prevention gets due attention," she added.
The survey combines measures that reflect individual, community and public policy decisions and availability of public health and medical care resources. Data is provided by such sources as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Safety Council, U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor.
